Indian Stepwells

Water source, meeting place, architectural wonder: The ancient Indian stepwell – a man-made, subterranean well also known as ‘vav’ or ‘baori’ – has been capturing the imagination of pilgrims and travelers for centuries.

Admired for their astonishing intricate and often symmetric designs as well as their significance in Hindi culture as a sacred place for water collection, bathing and meditation, the earliest stepwells date back to around 550 AD. During medieval times, over 3,000 were built in the northern states of India. Today, however, many these ancient relics have been largely forgotten, and now languish in a state of decay.

(via ignant.de)

One Reply to “Indian Stepwells

  1. Green water, 7 steps per rise, 10 rises and 8.345 lbs per gallon…whew! I’d probably have that gallon drank program to reaching the top. Also, probably another great feat constructed by slaves. As Mrs Obama says “I’ve been living in a house for almost 8 years that was built by slaves”. Seems a lot of people complain or “awe” yet forget but forget who really built great structures around this world.

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